Mystery Photos

Boys with sticks - taken 1910-1914. Oscar Winkel is 3rd from left. Who are the others?

Taken at Tazewell County Court House, December 1959. Can you identify them?

Van Orstrand house in Spring Lake Township. Does anyone know which Van Orstrand owned the house? Who are the ladies? What year was the photo was taken?

Can you identify this young man? Taken by H. H. Cole in the early 1900's - from our Gladys Wolfer Collection.

Can you identify this family? Taken by H. H. Cole in the early 1900's - from our Gladys Wolfer Collection

Taken by Konisek Photography in Pekin - can you tell us who she is and the date?

Taken by Konisek Photography in Pekin - can you tell us who she is and the date?

This photo is from our tintype collection. Can you tell us anything about it?

This photo is from our tintype collection. Can you tell us anything about it?

This photo is from our tintype collection. Can you tell us anything about it?

This photo is from our tintype collection. Can you tell us anything about it?

This photo was printed from one of the many negatives in our collection. We have absolutely no information!

Appears to be a parade on Court Street in Pekin for Washington Junior High School. What year and what was the celebration?

Appears to be a parade on Court Street in Pekin for Washington Junior High School. What year and what was the celebration?

Pekin Theater Circa 1928
Can you name the goddess featured above?

Staff of Pekin Theater about 1946 - 2nd Lady in front row is Leona Aque Dunn. Can you name the rest of the staff?

Photo taken before 1975. Joseph Logan Unland is the third man from left, receiving the award. What was the award? Who are the others in the photo and where was it taken? Partially identified! From left: Jim Unland, one of Jim's sons (Jim or John). Man at far right is Charles Karch.

Vogel’s Market - Virgil Vogel & Lish Davis are at left. Who are the women and when was the photo taken? Partially Identified! Lady behind the counter is Jean Johnson.

Undated Pekin Baseball team photo. The man in the center of the back row with glasses is Edwin Lampitt who sponsored the team. If you can identify the date, location or any person in the photo, please let us know.

The Pawson School was about 2 miles southeast of Delavan - the back of the photo states the children are Joyce Newlin, LeRoy Newlin, Donald Newlin, Dick Dirks, Albert Dirks, George Dirks, Nelda Rademaker, Floyd Rademaker, Donald Yelton, Shirley Yelton, Helen McCoy, Jerry Detmers, and Jerry Orndorff. Does that match the order the children are in? Include the small children on the sled? Any idea of the year of the photo?

Photo was taken about 1954/1955 at a birthday party in Pekin, Illinois. The girls were told to dress up in their mother's clothes.
Front row - Judy Linebaugh, Judy ?????, Gail Albertsen
Back row - ?????, Charlene Brown, Nancy Albertsen, Charlotte Frings, Julie Warren
Questions: Missing names? Whose birthday was it? Where was the photo taken?

Any idea of the date & location of this Masonic group? Or, can you identify any of the individuals?

Perhaps a Morton Area family? Can you identify this couple?

Perhaps a Morton Area family? Can you identify anyone?

Union House Hotel
Circa early 1890's
Corner of 2nd Street & Court in Pekin from 1876-1930.
Does anyone recognize any of the gentlemen in the photo?

Can you name these men or tell us the date of the photo?

Do you recognize this structure - perhaps a Peoria building? Identified!! Thanks to member Angie Sneeringer who identified the building as 501 E. Daniel, Champaign, IL, a former fraternity house, that is the current home of the University of Illinois School of Information Sciences.

Thought to be in Spring Lake Twp - What school and what year?

Porter School ca. 1912 in Spring Lake Twp. Bottom Row: Emma N Edwards is 4th from left and John Edwards is 6th from left. Who are the other students and teachers?

This diner is thought to be in Tazewell or Mason county. Does anyone know the name, location, or years in business?

Possibly the interior of Philip Welty's millinery store at 315 Court Street, Pekin – taken around 1900-1910. Did you have an ancestor who worked or shopped in this store?

Photo was taken in the summer of 1945 inside the Tazewell County Courthouse – note the 48-star flag on the wall. The only identified person is in the back row, far right, with George Washington looking over his shoulder – Eldon E Rynerson (1927-2003) of South Pekin. Eldon was just 18 and working at Corn Products Company when he filled out his draft card. By the time he was through basic training the war was over. He spent his Army years stationed in Paris working to rebuild infrastructure. When he returned home, he went to work for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. Can you identify any of the other men?

Pekin Union Mission Sunday School Class photo taken in the 1920s. The teacher is Henry Frederick Johannes, who taught Sunday School at the Mission for 35 years. Only the boy in the back row far right is known: Louis Charles Zuckweiler. Who are the others?

Michele Hoque sent this photo of a Dee-Mack High student. Tentatively identified as Rona Drummond. Click here for the details!

Michele Hoque sent this photo of a Dee-Mack High student. Identified!! Thanks to Dallas Embry & Brenda (no last name given) for recognizing Richard Rich. Click here for the details!

Michele Hoque sent this photo of a Dee-Mack High student. Identified!! Thanks to Dallas Embry & Brenda (no last name given) for recognizing Don Blair. Click here for the details!

Michele Hoque submitted this photo of a Dee-Mack High School student who graduated between 1948 & 1952. Can you identify him?

Michele Hoque sent this photo of a Dee-Mack High student. Identified!! Thanks to Dallas Embry & Brenda (no last name given) for recognizing Carl Kull. Click here for the details!

Michele Hoque sent this photo of a Dee-Mack High student. Identified!! Thanks to Dallas Embry & Brenda (no last name given) for recognizing Garland Heyes. Click here for the details!

Michele Hoque sent this photo of a Dee-Mack High student. Identified!! Thanks to Dallas Embry & Brenda (no last name given) for recognizing Lyle Wroan. Click here for the details!

Michele Hoque submitted this photo of a Dee-Mack High School student who graduated between 1948 & 1952. Can you identify him?

Do you know this couple? Perhaps part of the Haas-Swoboda family?

Who are these children? Photo taken 1900-1920. Birdsell Children's Wagon made around the turn of the century by Birdsell Manufacturing in South Bend, Indiana. Birdsell also made farm machinery.

Can you identify this Tazewell County family circa 1930-1940?

Customers line up to purchase basketball tournament tickets at Central Book & Toy Store, 345 Court, Pekin. What year? Early 1960s?

PCHS Senior Photo - can you identify the person and/or year? Identified!! Thanks to several visitors to our Facebook page who identified this young lady as Anne Louise Smith. Click here for the details!

PCHS 1944 Senior Photo - Do you know her name? Identified!! Thanks to several visitors to our Facebook page who identified this young lady as Sally Wallinger. Click here for the details!

1946 State Championship photo of the Pekin Grays baseball team.. The man standing 2nd from right is Frank L. Trumpy. Can you identify anyone else?

Beth Rosenberg Zweig submitted this photo of the Pekin Grays baseball team sometime in the 1940’s. Identified!! Thanks to Deanna Oltman for identifying all the team members. Click here for the details!

Picture is dated August 20, 1950 - do you know who they are?

Is this the Weeks family of Washington? Can anyone help with names?

Probable circa 1890-1900 Washington, Illinois theater group. Can anyone help with names?

Pekin Junior Women's Club – names we have (Lois Scrogin, Lonn Timke, __ Kohlbacher, Frances Hancock, Donna Coryell, Harriet Higgins, Mae Sarff, __ Maxwell, Ruth Saal) are not in seated order. Can anyone place the right names with the right person and fill in the blanks?

Tazewell County Sheriff's Posse about 1963 - on the far left is Sheriff George Sweeter (1907-1964). He was Sheriff from 1962 to 1964. According to our notes, Helen Deitrich (George's daughter) donated the image. Photo taken on James Field (101 South 9th Street) in Pekin. A car dealer (Ford?) and St. Paul United Church of Christ can be seen in the background. Can you identify the other members of the posse?

First Presbyterian Church Sunday School about 1939/40 - the church is on the left; the old Pekin Library is on the right -3rd girl from the left is Joy Dirkesn. Who are the other girls?

A Green Valley area school class. What year and who are the pupils?

Pekin Community High School Senior Photo - who is he and when did he graduate?

Pekin Community High School Senior Photo - who is he and when did he graduate?

Pekin Community High School Senior Photo - who is he and when did he graduate?

Pekin Community High School Senior Photo - who is he and when did he graduate?

Pekin Community High School Senior Photo - who is he and when did he graduate?

Possibly a Rapp Family couple - Any idea who they are?

Possibly a couple from Tremont - do you know who they are?

Member Tom Dirksen submitted this photo - taken about 1915 at Mineral Springs Park in Pekin. Identified!! Thanks to member Mary Faux who own a copy of the 1914 newspaper the photo originally appeared in (her uncle is in the photo) Click here for the details!

Taken in Pekin by Konisek about 1910-1915. Can you ID these siblings?

Can you identify this family - possibly from Morton?

1958 5th Grade Class, Rusche Grade School, Creve Coeur - Can you name these children and their teacher?  Member David Perkins identifies the teacher as Laura Rutland - a long-time friend and coworker of his mother.

South Pekin Grade 4 October 12, 1942. Can you name any of these children?

Do you know any details about this church confirmation class circa 1910-1915?Identified!! Thanks to member Connie Ary who recognized this photo matched one of the 1908 Confirmation Class hanging in a hallway of St. John's Lutheran Church - Sand Prairie in Green Valley. Click here for the details!

Any idea who these men are? From our Julius Epkens, Ida Blizzard, John M. Goar Collection.

Note on the back of the photo says "Mrs. George Becker". Photo was taken around 1900. Do you know any additional details? From our Julius Epkens, Ida Blizzard, John M. Goar Collection.

Both photos are of the Easter, Dircks and Behrens families who lived in Pekin and Peoria. Some possible names - Henry Behrens, Walter Behrens, John Behrens, John Dircks, Wesley Dircks, Clarence "Jack" Easter, and Charles Easter. Can you identify anyone?

Both photos are of the Easter, Dircks and Behrens families who lived in Pekin and Peoria. Some possible names - Henry Behrens, Walter Behrens, John Behrens, John Dircks, Wesley Dircks, Clarence "Jack" Easter, and Charles Easter. Can you identify anyone?.

The above picture is of the seven Brown sisters and their mother, Susan America McClintock, born 1843 in Illinois. Their father, John Brown, was born in 1829 in Canada or France. The names of the sisters are Mary Millie born 1866, Georgiana born 1868, Agnes Lucinda born 1870, Lulu Alice born 1874, Josephine Emily born 1876, Augusta "Curtie" Ellen born 1882, and Margaret Jane born 1887. Also, there were two brothers, Caesar Anderson and Johnie Charles. All were born in Tazewell County. THE MYSTERY? - Which name belongs to which sister??

Possible Schmidgall Family - Can you identify anyone?

Can you identify the girl at the left of this circa 1909 photo taken by B.L. Moore of Eureka?
(L to R): Unknown Girl, Teddy (Theodore) Wagner, Oliver Wagner (standing), Mabel Wagner. The parents of the Wagner children were Washington and Matilda (Blumenshine) Wagner of Washington, Illinois. The unidentified girl does not appear in any census with the family. Matilda's 1957 obituary lists a “Mrs. Ha Look of Pekin who lived with the Wagner's as a girl.” Is Mrs. Look the "unknown girl"?

Beautiful Cake! Dated April 17, 1907 Identified!! Thanks to members Carol Walker & Thom Reed! Click here for the details!

Photo by Cole Studio - Brother to similar photo? From our Wolfer collection.

Photo by Cole Studio - Sister to similar photo? From our Wolfer collection.

Can anyone identify this couple? Possible members of the Ezekiel Leonard family who came to Elm Grove Township around 1828. Photo was taken by Cole's during the 1880s.

Can you name this gentlewomen? Possible member of the Ezekiel Leonard family who came to Elm Grove Township around 1828. Photo was taken by Cole's during the 1880s.

Can you identify this young lady? Photo by Nash, Peoria. Might be related to Beimfohr family? She lived in the Parkland - Manito area.

Any idea who she is? Identified!! Thanks to member Susan Bohm who reported “this young lady is Frances Idella Schappaugh. She married Walter Bender.  My mother Verla Schappaugh Pannier has this in her collection.” Click here for the details!

Mr. & Mrs. Atkinson of Washington. Photo by Emil W Bach of Peoria who was in business from 1887-1913. What were their first names & what happened to them?

Unknown Tazewell County Family - Can you identify anyone?

Do you know who she is? Photograph taken by Nash in Peoria between 1904 and 1930. From our Gladys Wolfer Collection

Can you identify any of these guys? Taken by a Morton photographer.

Can you identify anyone? Taken by a Morton photographer. Possible Tremont area children.

Any idea who this man is?

Photo taken by HH Cole - Do you know who she is?

Who were the "Morton 13"?

Who are these cuties?

Who is this intriguing woman?

Danforth School, District 16, 03 March 1937. Can anyone name these children?

This photo is part of a collection the Society obtained from a former Morton photography studio. Most of the photos are reprints that customers ordered but without any information about the subjects. This reprint was ordered between 1988 and 1990. Can you help with the names and/or places where the original photo was taken?

This photo is part of a collection the Society obtained from a former Morton photography studio. Most of the photos are reprints that customers ordered but without any information about the subjects. This reprint was ordered between 1988 and 1990. Can you help with the names and/or places where the original photo was taken?

No family names noted on photograph; picture possibly taken in Mackinaw. Donated by Carol Kinsey. Can you supply us with any additional details?

2nd Reformed Church, Pekin, Illinois - Lady standing at far left is Reintje Eden. It is presumed the man and woman in the middle are the pastor and his wife; possibly taken between 1900 and 1919. Do you recognize any of these ladies?

The Kirby Company began in 1935, selling vacuums door-to-door, and continues in business today. This photo appears to be taken in the 1950's. On the back of the photo is - Hubbard Studio, 205 E. Washington Street, East Peoria, Illinois. Can you identify any of the men? If you were a Kirby salesman, tell us your story!!

AT THE BAZAAR - Photo was taken by Chris DeSutter Photography of Manito. It's dated on the back as 1912 or 1913. Can you identify the event and/or anyone in the photo?

YWCA Dedication in June 1959. Can you name any of these young ladies?

Identified!! Thanks to Joe Weghorst for naming all the firemen in the 1959 Pekin Fire Department photo!

Click here to see the names of the pictured firemen

Photo taken by H.H. Cole around 1890-1900 - can you identify this gentlewoman?

Who are these children, possibly from the Mackinaw area? Photographer Owen B. O'Neil was born in 1871 in Bloomington. In 1895, he took over C. H. Klauer's Bloomington photography business. Sometime previous to 1910 he moved to Chicago where he died in 1913. He is buried in Bloomington.

Partially Identified!! Thanks to Mary Lynn, Curator of Morton Public Library Historical Collection, for identifying this photo as the 1918 8th grade graduating class of Morton Grade School. She thinks the students are standing in front of the house at 206 W. Jefferson Street in Morton. Can you identify anyone in the picture?

Identified!! - Barbara Brooking Heindselman identified the man driving the carriage as her great grandfather John G. Heisel and the little girl as his daughter Lillian Heisel Brooking, who was Barbara's grandmother.

Click here to see more details.

Do you recognize these adorable young ladies? Photograph was taken in 1930 in Beardstown, Cass County, Illinois. Photographer was Martin Rice Shoemaker who was born in Texas and died in Cass County in 1939.

Class Photo – Chalkboard held by child says “Pekin, ILL 1889”. Do you recognize an ancestor or the school?

No one in this photograph has been identified. We know it was taken 27 Oct 1912

No one in this photograph has been identified. We know it was taken by Anson D. Abbott. Mr. Abbott was born in Bond County, Illinois. He married Sarah Alice Edwards around 1878. They lived in Mason City from 1900 until his death in 1921.

Mr. & Mrs. Johnson - Photo was taken 1895-1900 - What are the first names? Other family members?

This photo was donated with a collection of Grossweiler family photos. On the back is noted "Will Massy sister Mollie." We could find neither Will or Mollie in any Tazewell Census

Langton Lumber Company – located in Pekin on Broadway Street from about 1910 to at least 1921. Can you identify anyone?

This picture, mounted on a cabinet card, was taken by the Erler Studio. There are no names or a date on the back. The Erler Brothers had a photography studio located at 1216 South Adams Street in Peoria from 1882-1893.

This photograph, probably from the 1930s or 40s, has been in our files for quite some time with no information attached.